Aa. Olaitan et Eo. Adekeye, UNICYSTIC AMELOBLASTOMA OF THE MANDIBLE - A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP, Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery, 55(4), 1997, pp. 345-348
Purpose: This article presents the long-term results of treatment for
a series of unicystic ameloblastoma of the mandible, Patients and Meth
ods: Twenty-one patients were seen within a 15-year period, The median
age at onset of symptoms was 18 years, with a median delay before pre
sentation of 4 years. The male/female ratio was 1.3:1., Treatment was
enucleation with primary closure in 11 patients (52.4%) whose lesions
were in the horizontal body of the mandible, Five patients (23.8%) had
excision of the lesion and the encompassing dentoalveolar process wit
h preservation of the lower border of the mandible. Because the diseas
e involved the ascending ramus of the mandible in five patients (23.8%
), full-thickness resection of the affected mandible was done, Results
: There were three recurrences: Two in patients managed with enucleati
on and one in a patient who had resection of the lesion with preservat
ion of the lower border of the mandible, Conclusion: The findings show
that unicystic ameloblastoma often can be treated successfully with l
ess aggressive surgery than that needed for multicystic ameloblastoma.